Did John Kerry use a picture from 2003 to push for war in Syria in 2013?

According to a post at Infowars, John Kerry allegedly used a picture showing rows of dead bodies to push for war in Syria. But it turns out the picture in question was not taken in Syria, nor was it taken after the recently reported chemical attack. Turns out it was taken in 2003. In Iraq.

Julie Wilson wrote:

Secretary of State John Kerry opened his speech Friday by describing the horrors victims of the chemical weapon attack suffered, including twitching, spasms and difficulty breathing.

Attempting to drive the point home, Kerry referenced a photograph used by the BBC illustrating a child jumping over hundreds of dead bodies covered in white shrouds. The photo was meant to depict victims who allegedly succumbed to the effects of chemical weapons via Assad’s regime.

The photo was retracted, she said.

We looked at various reports from mainstream media outlets and found no other reference to the photo. We did, however, find this:

When John Kerry stood in as surrogate president yesterday making the case for war in Syria (Apparently Obama was leading from behind again. Either that or he wanted someone with the ‘Voice of God’ making the pitch for him. Sorry Mr. Kerry, only Charleton Heston had the Voice of God and you’re no Charleton Heston.). Kerry talked about and emphasized the ‘thousands of pieces of evidence’ we should look at for ourselves, things Kerry said he had witnessed with his own eyes. And this photo was one of them.

Then he repeated his challenge to look for ourselves. And I did. And I knew I had seen this ‘evidence’ picture, a long time ago. And I knew he was lying, again! And I knew what Kerry seems not to have learned yet. That in this age of the internet and information you can’t lie for long. You will be caught.

If all reports are correct, it’s not the first time the picture was used to report a Syrian massacre.

The picture, which was actually taken on March 27, 2003, shows a young Iraqi child jumping over dozens of white body bags containing skeletons found in a desert south of Baghdad.

It was posted on the BBC news website today under the heading “Syria massacre in Houla condemned as outrage grows”.

The caption states the photograph was provided by an activist and cannot be independently verified, but says it is “believed to show the bodies of children in Houla awaiting burial”.

It’s no secret the administration wants war in Syria, and wants U.S. involvement, but can’t they even get their photos right? Surely, they can find a picture that was taken in the last ten years, right?

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